The Minimum

People are being knocked out of the workforce by technology. Everyone needs to do a personal inventory of their skill sets, personal desires, life path and goals. You need to figure out a plan where you can serve a lot of people. When I say a lot of people, a few hundred to a few thousand works. While a few hundred can give you a good living, a few thousand can make you a millionaire.

You will be paid based on how easy it is to replace you. The easier it is to replace you, the lower your pay will be. I was watching this video this morning about people with great credentials in their 40s and 50s in Silicon Valley and they are in the same position as this woman making $8 per hour for the last ten years. This new economy is no joke.

When I talk about minimum wage, this is where I get called a Republican. Based on what I know, raising the minimum wage is a bad idea. The Golden Rule is, “He who has the gold makes the rules.” That’s never going to change. So, what’s going to happen if these companies are forced to raise the minimum wage, something is going to happen and it’s not going to be good.

It will force these companies to be more efficient. It will force these companies to do more with less. Instead of more money for more workers, it will be more money for a smaller pool of workers. Many people making these policies have never run a business. That is the big problem.

When you’ve had a business and had payroll, you have a different outlook on this stuff. That’s why I can speak this way about it. I’ve been on both sides of the table. I’ve been that $5.25 laborer. I did that shit for two years and it was not fun.

The other side is free will and choice. One of the biggest reasons people are in poverty is because they have no skill sets before they have kids. You can’t compare a female attorney with a child making $70K to $200k with a woman making $8 per hour with a child.

This all goes back to skill sets and ownership of your life. I know people who are doing poorly and people who are doing fantastic. It comes down to mindset and preparation. Remember, I am speaking to you as someone with no degree who grew up in a single parent household. Except for about a three-year period, I was able to rise above my circumstances. During that rough three-year period, I was forced to look at my life and the choices that I made. That’s really where you have to start to make a change.

If you’re trying to get out of poverty, you’re going to have to do something different. You are going to have to gain different skill sets. It’s on you. With the massive debt the country has, it is going to be impossible to sustain the social programs and nets we have today. They’ve already been drastically cut.

With the disruptive economy, this is what is happening. Listen to me. You will have some kid in his basement who is going to create some new technology and disrupt the workforce. People who saved money and who have done all the right things will end up scratching their head because they will lose their job. These people have degrees and experience and believed they would be insulated from layoffs.

This is the reality of what we’re going through. The number of jobs being created are not enough for the population growth. Technology makes things more efficient, but it takes away jobs. The answer for people seeking security is that you need to do an inventory of your personal skill sets and personal desires and figure out a plan where you create a business or service that can serve a lot of people.

Think in those terms. Once again, he who has the gold makes the rules. McDonald’s and Walmart aren’t going to pay higher wages and wreck their profit margin so that they can pay more. Based on what’s coming, the people who have low-wage and low-skill jobs are growing. There are going to be many more of those kinds of jobs. We’ve gone from producers to consumers, as a society.

There is opportunity there. If you become a producer or creator even at a small level, you can significantly change your life. I’ve got people in the group who have done it. I’ve got a guy who hit six figures in personal income after three years in the storage auction game. I think that’s fantastic.

When you want to look for heroes, just go to any immigrant neighborhood and you will see people who don’t speak English. They are new to this country, but they have to eat. Often, they can’t get a job, but they can create one.

You can’t solve problems with the same level of thinking that created the problem. You have to think differently. You have to elevate your thinking. I’m saying this because there are going to many more people who find themselves in this position. It’s not like I have a crystal ball. The dots are just so big, I can see them.

The old path to success in the US still works for a group of people. I met a mechanical engineer who got a scholarship and a good job and he is doing well. He had no student debt. The old system worked for him. He was super smart. If you’re going to go that traditional route, you have to be super smart for that to work.

If you find yourself in a position where you need to make some changes, my advice to you would be to sell everything. I know that sounds really crazy. Take a personal accounting of everything in your house. Sell everything you absolutely don’t need. Get yourself a roommate. Move in with a parent. Don’t move in for free, though.

Start a business and devote yourself to that 100%. Stop dating and hanging out. Put your blinders on and work on your business. That’s the way a lot of really successful companies are created.

The economy is only getting better for a group of people. There are good struggles and bad struggles. If you are building a business and it’s hard, that is a good struggle. If you’re home and hanging out every weekend and when you get a little money the first thing you do is go get drunk, that is a bad struggle.

Radical changes take radical action.

If you like this, be sure to get on my email list for updates to live streams and special offers. Subscribe today!